Brand color

Picking The Right Brand Colours

From acid green to barbie pink, blizzard blue to bitter lemon and burnt orange to cadet grey, companies and designers have an almost endless selection of colors and shades to choose from when it comes to selecting an image for their company or organization.

The graphic designer at alldayPA, Tom Campbell has seen his fair share of colors throughout his numerous years working in the design industry.

Tom has used his expertise to create a list of the main colors used within the industry and has produced an overview of what these colors symbolize as well as examples of companies that use these colors in their own branding.


Sends a bold and urgent message. The color itself can be viewed as exciting, energetic and increase heart rate. The sense of urgency it creates makes it a great color for sales and clearance events. Triggers appetite so used in food marketing

Companies that use this color include Coca-cola, Virgin, Netflix, YouTube, Lego, Levis, Heinz, Kelloggs, KFC.


Is a Secure and trustworthy color. Associated with intelligence and precision blue is often used by finance and technology companies. They need to ensure their customers trust the brand and feel and ease with the service.

Companies that have chosen blue to market the company includes Ford, Facebook, WordPress, Intel, Skype, IBM, VW, Oral B, JP Morgan, NASA, GE.


Is warm, friendly and extroverted. Orange suggests doing something impulsive, going with your gut feeling and it encourages you to do things. It a perfect color for a call to action, and for making your brand stand out from competitors.

Successful companies that used the color orange include Fanta, Harley Davidson, Nickelodeon, Firefox, Mastercard, Easyjet.


Is generally associated with nature and money. This creates a feeling of both physical and financial benefit. An easy color for the brain to process, as it triggers a feeling of calm and ease. Used by a lot of ethically driven companies and beauty products.

Whole Foods, Starbucks, Landrover, BP, Tropicana, Greenpeace, Garnier are examples of companies that use the color green.


Is bold and minimalist. Used by luxury brands the simplicity denotes authority. It suggests a confidence that doesn’t require the use of color. Grey shades suggest calmness and effortless sophistication.

Luxury brands such as Mercedes, Audi, Apple, The Times, Chanel, Armani, Hotel Chocolat all use the color black in their logo.


Is a color that traditionally suggests femininity. This may sway some companies as pink may target one specific demographic as it is commonly used to market products towards women. However, it also denotes creativity, imagination, and the boldness to stand out

Agent Provocateur, alldayPA, T-Mobile, 2012 Olympics, BBC iPlayer & BBC 3,, Channel 4 Music all use the color pink successfully in their advertising.


Is optimistic, youthful and bright. It attracts attention and is linked to the sun, happiness, and enjoyment. It tends to be used to target a younger generation as it stands out and has spontaneous and carefree connotations associated with it.

Companies that use yellow include Ferrari, McDonald, Ikea, Nikon, National Geographic, Selfridges, Porsche, and EE.

Color says a lot about what your company’s values are, what you stand for and how to would like to be perceived by your target customer. To ensure you use the right color, think about the identity of your company and make sure you send out the correct message. There’s an endless list of colors to choose from so take your time and make the right decision.

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